KEF ls50 - Highly Recommended

[Etymotic]

AVI ADM9RS With the upgraded Scanspeak tweeter would set you back £1400 and includes an amp, pre amp and a dac all contained in a pair of active speakers. A decent pair of stands for the ADM's need not cost more than £100 so thats your budget covered!

Without doubt would give you the clean and crisp sound you are seeking.

 

[Frank Harvey]

What set up would you recomend for around the £1500 mark.. I want the cleanest dynamic sound for the money.. At the moment i have to much bass with the nad's and there too warm.. Would like a cleaner, crisper, leaner sound if that makes sence...

The Pioneer A50 with the LS50's, and that'll leave you with £200 change.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Thanks David,

I listen to all sorts from Bat for Lashes to Deftones and I like a wide and detailed soundstage. True the bass idoes appear powerful albeit not hugely deep but I must admit, it sounds overblown sometimes even though they are a good 20 inches or so from the back wall.

i do like a bit of bass depth(taken care of by a the velodyne which is set very low) but I feel that I am missing a touch of punch.

Given the Arcam gear that I have, the LS50s may well be a great match. I'll see if I can get a home demo and report back.

The LS50's will certainly perk things up a little, but before you do, have you played about with the port bungs? If you haven't already, try the outer part of the bung only. This will calm the bass down a little, and bring out the mid and treble a little bit.

 

[p_m_brown]

Didn't realise I had any bungs. I'll have to check in the box ask the company I bought them from.

Certainly be a lot cheaper than new speakers!

 

[Frank Harvey]

You don't want to out the full bung in as they'll just sound dull, but you can take out the centre part of the bung to just use the outer part - I find it works really well on the R series.

 

[Frank Harvey]

.

 

[Replicant666]

What set up would you recomend for around the £1500 mark.. I want the cleanest dynamic sound for the money.. At the moment i have to much bass with the nad's and there too warm.. Would like a cleaner, crisper, leaner sound if that makes sence...

The Pioneer A50 with the LS50's, and that'll leave you with £200 change.

I bought the Pioneer A50 to drive the LS50s based on Davids recomendation and its superb, Id certainly try and audition and the bass was a revelation considering the size but really clean and dynamic. They live up to the reviews in my opinion

 

[p_m_brown]

You don't want to out the full bung in as they'll just sound dull, but you can take out the centre part of the bung to just use the outer part - I find it works really well on the R series.

Well many thanks for the advise David, I'll tinker with that tomorrow! :cheers:

 

[Replicant666]

What set up would you recomend for around the £1500 mark.. I want the cleanest dynamic sound for the money.. At the moment i have to much bass with the nad's and there too warm.. Would like a cleaner, crisper, leaner sound if that makes sence...

The Pioneer A50 with the LS50's, and that'll leave you with £200 change.

I bought the Pioneer A50 to drive the LS50s based on Davids recomendation and its superb, Id certainly try and audition and the bass was a revelation considering the size , really clean and dynamic. They live up to the reviews in my opinion

 

[BigH]

So David would you say the Pioneer A50 is better than a Musicial Fid M3i or an Audiolab 8200A?

 

[cstanwhf]

Hi David, what do you think of the Pioneer A400 and LS50 combo? Thanks.

 

[Frank Harvey]

So David would you say the Pioneer A50 is better than a Musicial Fid M3i or an Audiolab 8200A?

Different. The reason I like the Pioneer with the LS50's is that it seems to be similar tonally, both clean and precise. The 8200A will 'soften' the overall presentation slightly, and the MF maybe even more so (I will have to guess there as I haven't yet heard the M3i with the LS50's). All I can say is that I find the A50 to be in control of what the LS50's are doing, and that to me is more important than choosing something I like the sound of. I'm not sure that made sense, but I know what I mean 🙂

 

[recruit]

Arcam is also a good match amplification wise with the Kef's, if you can get a listen you will be pleasantly surprised!

 

[Replicant666]

I gather KEF use the Arcam A38 when they're demoing them.

 

[Replicant666]

I gather KEF use the Arcam A38 when they're demoing them.

 

[BigH]

Arcam is also a good match amplification wise with the Kef's, if you can get a listen you will be pleasantly surprised!

Which one?

 

[BigH]

I gather KEF use the Arcam A38 when they're demoing them.

I wonder if Whathifi used the Kefs when they tested the Arcam A38. They did not rate it very highly.

 

[BluePotato]

Wow - first time I've opened this thread, a good read - these LS50's sound great. I've only heard 5-10 different speakers and all floorstanders, just trying to get a feel for how good these are - how would they compare against say my Spendor A5's?

 

[stevieray]

They're opening up nicely now.. I think they just need a good airing at high volume 🙂 mids are getting cleaner and treble is opening up.... Would you say the pioneer a50, acram a19 or the naim unitilite is the best option for more detail, dynamics and tighter bass? And if the separate amps.. What cd player?

 

[Ajgarnham]

I'm now on day 2 of owning the Arcam A19 going into my LS50's, and I am loving it! I'm not using a CD player for it just got my Apple TV going into rLink which works and sounds great to me, just use my ipad to control my mac AirPlay to it. The speakers still need time to bed in properly as well as the amp to a curtain degree.

i listen to mainly metal with a few random things thrown in and really like a studio-esc sound, (been to and recorded in a few studios in the past and have always enjoyed that inviroment for listening)

 

[alchemist 1]

I'm now on day 2 of owning the Arcam A19 going into my LS50's, and I am loving it! I'm not using a CD player for it just got my Apple TV going into rLink which works and sounds great to me, just use my ipad to control my mac AirPlay to it. The speakers still need time to bed in properly as well as the amp to a curtain degree.

i listen to mainly metal with a few random things thrown in and really like a studio-esc sound, (been to and recorded in a few studios in the past and have always enjoyed that inviroment for listening)

Give them a few months and they will really shine.........8)

 

[The Mad One]

David
if you dont mind me asking can you please elaberate more:
All I can say is that I find the A50 to be in control of what the LS50's are doing, and that to me is more important than choosing something I like the sound of. I'm not sure that made sense, but I know what I mean

im finding this combo to be quite amazing but ive got this niggling doubt that i could get more from the kefs but how much more would i need to spend to improve on the pioneer?
The Mad One

 

[Frank Harvey]

David if you dont mind me asking can you please elaberate more:

All I can say is that I find the A50 to be in control of what the LS50's are doing, and that to me is more important than choosing something I like the sound of. I'm not sure that made sense, but I know what I mean

im finding this combo to be quite amazing but ive got this niggling doubt that i could get more from the kefs but how much more would i need to spend to improve on the pioneer? The Mad One

Any quality speaker will respond well to more/better power delivery.

A high quality speaker will normally demand a lot of power, or a high quality amplifier in order for it to perform well. For some speakers this can run into quite a bit of money. I just found that the Pioneer seems stable enough to be able to provide the LS50's with what they need to sound good, and also to retain their natural characteristics. That's not to say the Pioneer is all that is needed, nor that it is the be all and end all. But there are many other £500 amps that change the LS50's so much that they no longer sound the way they've been intended. I have used them on the end of a Bryston 4Bsst2, but I'd rather not comment as it was in the part of the shop that isn't really suitable to such a small speaker. Although it was surprising how much they can be pushed with a power amp with such immense control.

 

[The Mad One]

thanks david thats quite intresting.

at least ive chosen the right amp to make the speakers sing i must say ive not stopped listening to them since i bought them last last week.

very addictive.

one last question should i put the amp into standby mode or just turn the volume down as i undertand its best to leave amps on so they are allways warmed up ready to sound there best.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Debatable. Of course, its your electric bill, so the decision rests with you, but I leave mine on all the time. The A50 won't use as much electricity as a normal Class A/B amp when idling, so you should be fine to leave it on if you like.